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    April 2007 Edition
   
Organized Lifestyles Magazine
HOME * OFFICE * TIME * SPIRIT
April 2007
Deanne
Hello,

What a Difference a Day Makes!

It’s time for spring-cleaning and I love the feeling of fine- tuning the little things that have been bugging me; a drawer in the kitchen, an area for my kids’ toys, the sweaters in my closet, and the list goes on.

It sneaks up on us, this spring-cleaning thing. One sunny day as the snow is melting away, we pry open the windows and suddenly find ourselves organizing, purging, and cleaning: a closet, the cupboards in the kitchen, or the alcove at the front entrance. This is cleaning that yields such intense satisfaction! I honestly feel like I would love a whole day to fine-tune each room in my house. It would take me just under a day actually, because I have the core operational processes in place. These are systems that work for me and my lifestyle. They are based on a simple space to item to usage ratio: Do I have enough space for all the items? Are they in a logical place for how I use those items?

This is what the Kaos team does when we work in your home or office. We continually use the same ratio to establish the core operational systems that work for you and your lifestyle.

We have heard our clients say it over and over – “what a difference a day makes” - which is why our “One Day Clear-the-Clutter” event is such a phenomenal success. We give you exactly that – one whole day to focus on what you need to get organized and we make it happen.

The One Day Clear-the-Clutter event is the permission you need to devote an entire day to purging, cleaning, and organizing everything that you want to, with a professional to assist with the systems that will maintain what you create.

This edition of the Organized Lifestyle Magazine is about all the things you can do in one day. Here are some ideas of common areas to tackle – from start to finish – in one day.

Make your ‘one day’ right now. Schedule it in (be sure you get a good night’s sleep the night prior), have clear objectives, and begin!

You too will be amazed at “what a difference a day makes”.

One Day - Around the House
* HOME *

Harbour Your Hardware

Bring all your tools together to one spot – like a tool box. Give it an easily accessible home so that you’ll want to pull it out and hang that new picture. Keep everything in the tool box – screws, drill, batteries, picture hanging wire and hooks, nails, hammer, drill bits. I could go on for a while here – but I think you know where I’m headed. Remember the Kaos Group ratio: space, item, usage.

Beautiful Bathrooms

Group all like items – makeup, cleansers, hair care, bath products, soap, toothpaste. If you have deep drawers, use open topped, deep containers to store commonly used items like hair care products or brushes and hair accessories. Keep commonly used back up stock under the sink but the extra 12 tubes of toothpaste or 12 bars of soap can be stored in a linen closet in a labeled box. The box idea in a linen closet allows you to stack the boxes to save space while still knowing what’s in them.

Air Space

"I need more space!" our clients scream, not usually in front of us – but we hear the frustration in their voices. We actually see so much space wasted in kitchens (closets too) and we have a simple solution to what we call, ‘wasted air space’. Wasted air space is the space between the highest item on the shelf and the next shelf. Here is a professional organizer secret for you to save on your air space – use risers. They can be found in Zellers, Solutions, Canadian Tire, and other stores.
These risers double the horizontal stacking space on a shelf. They are durable enough to hold plates, cups, and canned food. I even use one under my sink so that I can store the tin foil and plastic wrap boxes beneath the dish drainer. (no dishwasher in the new place!)

Kick up a Fuss

When was the last time you really looked at your shoes? And I mean all of them. Which ones need repairs, which need to be cleaned, which can be donated because you really aren’t going to wear them again?

One Day – One Time
* TIME *

“Time is so elusive.” “Time can slip between your fingers.” “Time flies.” “Time’s here and then it’s gone.” – I love all these sayings because they are so true. Unless, of course, you take some time to plan.

Make today the day that you are honest with your time. Schedule honestly, and you will feel that you are accomplishing all that you can.

The relationship we create with time is as real as we are honest and it can be intensely rewarding when we are honest with ‘it’ (time) and how we schedule activities around it.

When you know what you need to be doing and how much time it will take you, you will have the ability to be flexible, to squeeze a little more in or to say no when your schedule is full.

Time doesn’t need to be the enemy but something that we use to become more productive – personally and professionally.

Making it Simple
Deanne's Tips

Inside Out's 4th Annual Silent Auction/Garage Sale/Bake Sale Fundraiser on Sunday, April 15, 2007 at the Gladstone Hotel from 1 to 5 pm.
We Want Your Junk!


This is your chance to get rid of Christmas castoffs, get a jump start on your spring cleaning and help Inside Out put on the best festival ever.
Inside Out is accepting donations of gently used clothing, books, CDs, small furniture, art, knick knacks, electronics etc. You are welcome to drop off items at the office Monday to Friday from 11 am to 5 pm until the Friday prior to the event. Pickup of your items can also be arranged on Wednesday, March 28th and Saturday, March 31st. Please arrange a pick time with
Michele Clarke. If you wish to sit on the Bazaar committee, please contact Michele as well. Give up the Goods!<br> This event also hosts a silent auction of new items and services. If you are a business or know of one that would want to donate to our silent auction please contact Andréa.

One Day – Around the Office
* OFFICE *

Paper Piles

Sort into like piles by using the Kaos Group Core Four System To-Do, To-Pay, To-File, To- Read. Keep these piles easily sorted by using shoe-boxes or trays. You don’t want to sort more than once!

To-Do
Take all the To-Do’s and write them into a fresh book that you will use for your To-Do’s or enter them into Tasks in your Outlook, Memo them in your PDA. The point here is that you must keep all of your To-Do’s together so that you know what you need to be doing.
To-Pay
This is where your bills go until you’re ready to pay them. I have a magazine box where I put the bills as they come in. Bills never get lost and when I am ready to do my banking, I know exactly where everything is.
To-File
This is all the paperwork you need to keep. If you have a filing cabinet, your files should reflect regular papers that are received which need to be kept, such as utilities, investments, bank statements, etc.
If your filing cabinet doesn’t have file folders already in place to efficiently file away your paper work, you can easily create them.
To-Read
This is all the print material that you want to read and just can’t today: journal articles, magazines, catalogues, etc. Create a section where you can put the items you want to read so that you can easily grab last month’s magazine to take with you to read on the subway or while you’re waiting for your next appointment.

Be realistic! Don’t burden yourself unnecessarily about what you ‘want’ to read in the future. Always recycle, and remember that much of this information is available on the
Kaos Group web site.

Your Computer
Spring Clean your PC . Cleaning your keyboard, monitor, fans, and spring cleaning no -nos.

One Day – For Your Spirit
* SPIRIT *

I recently took a vacation and it was not only great – it was incredible: good friends, wonderful weather, the ocean, the sun, and seven whole days spent in a blissful state of relaxation. But upon my return, I began to wonder about the other 51 weeks of the year. What can I do to maintain that blissful state of relaxation in the remainder of my life?

So recently I tried a One-Day retreat for myself which was very rewarding.
I planned for it, prepared the workload, scheduled it in, and treated the day as though I was actually on vacation.

In each of your lives, you are your own primary caregiver. You make the rules and set the pace.

At the end of several weeks of going full speed you likely feel worn out. You probably begin to eat out a little more than usual; you feel like you are constantly in high gear so that when a social engagement gets cancelled you may even be happy for the extra few hours you just gained.

This is about the time when a One-Day retreat is in order: a day at the spa, lunch or dinner with friends, a visit to the museum, a long walk in the park or a relaxing coffee with your favorite book and the paper (the whole paper!).

Whatever you choose to satisfy your spirit – do it! Make it special and enjoy the revitalized feeling you can find within your own tired spirit!

We'd love to hear from you! info@kaosgroup.c om or by phone at 416-347-9002.

Deanne's Web Picks


Support Canadian Wines
– In the last federal budget when the GST was reduced, excise tax on wine was adjusted upward. Another component to this budget was excise relief for wine made from 100% domestic grapes. This type of relief is practiced from the United States to Australia. In the European Union, subsidies are well-known to be in the billions of dollars. The EU is in the process of challenging the Canadian excise relief to domestic wineries through the WTO. I am asking for your consideration and a few moments of your time to add your name to the petition should you wish to do so. Read the full report:

Toronto Maid: cleaning services, handyman, dog care services, garden maintenance, organizing services, and gourmet catering.

The Stephen Lewis Foundation - Easing the pain of HIV/Aids in Africa

Women in a Home Office - networking for women who have home based offices.

CAMP ALPHA-MANIA for the Love Of Letters. An interactive pre-reading program for ages 3 to 5. A unique introduction to phonics and the fundamentals of reading. Created by and exclusively at Ruth Rumack's Learning Space.Through song, stories and crafts we explore letters by sound, name and shape. Camp sessions are Monday to Friday 9:30am-11:30am throughout July & August. For further information please call 416.925.1225 or view our website at www.ruthrumack.co m.

Trind Nail & Hand Care: The absolute best nail care product on the market.

Cut your paper work in half – learn more by visiting Carol Halsey at Piles to Files .

Communicating Assertively Spring Series May 9, 16, 23, 30, 2007 Evenings – 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Dealing with stressful and difficult situations in any normal day cannot be avoided. BUT having the skills to speak effectively, listen, problem-solve and negotiate are essential to get on with the work that needs to be done. These special communication skills are the focus of this series. Presented by Goldie Newman Mandel Newman AssociatesCommunication Specialists
Tel: 416 785 8314 Email Goldie Newman

Organize. Optimize. And Profit – here’s how you can get started in your home or at your office.

One Day Clear the Clutter - personally or professionally. Get us in and get it done all in less than one day. Find out more about the one day event by visiting the kAos Group web site or contacting us at 416.347.9002

One client recently said - "Just want you to know how much help you were this afternoon. I am amazed how much you were able to accomplish for me in just three hours." Just imagine what we can do in a day!

Happy Organizing!


Deanne Kelleher
Kaos Group
phone: 416.347.9002